wonders why create different 3D models, if you can create one that can be customized?Previously, TMP showed our Team Yankee NATO starter force. Our Soviet force – thanks, Battlefront! – is on its way to the painters. Meanwhile, it's time to start thinking about terrain.
The recommended battlefield size for Team Yankee is 4' x 6'. The folding tables in my gaming room are 3.5' x 6'.
What I will use to give me the full battle space I want is a Table Top from War Zone Gaming Terrain Systems. I've been using these for years, and I have a selection of different sizes.
Here you can see their 4' x 6' Table Top on my table in my gaming room. I keep it stored in the same plastic it came in – it keeps dust from getting into the flock, and protects the product from damage and strain on the joints.
Here you can see the Table Top partially unfolded. This model consists of three panels, held together with taped seams that allow the panels to fold and unfold. The panels are made of construction-type insulation foam, roughly 1.5" thick. One side is flocked (in this case, green – other colors are available), and the backside is painted dark brown. The sides have a "rock" texture and are drybrushed.
And here is the Assault Table Top fully unfolded and ready for play. The board overhangs the sides of my table, but the thick foam will handle the weight of minis. (Though gamer bellies might shift the Table Top a few inches from time to time!)
As I said, I've owned these gameboards for a number of years. Sometimes the panels will stick together (the unflocked sides), so that when you unfold them there can be white spots (where the topcoat pulled off) or, rarely, the bare foam is exposed. I've never found this to be more than a minor inconvenience, and brown craft paint easily repairs the damage (which is on the backside, anyway).
Obviously, a foam gameboard needs to be carefully stored when not in use, as the surface could be punctured or broken by a heavy or hard object. The best way to store them is flat, but that takes up a lot of room; if you store them on their ends or sides, it puts strain on the seams and the tape may peel back a little. Fortunately, I've never had the tape peel enough to be a problem, and I suppose white glue could repair it if needed (I've never bothered).
Now, my NATO force has some ground to defend! However, it's not quite the hilly, forested, built-up terrain I'm looking for… yet!